From: Joe Balkoski and Joyce Duncan
Subject: Re: Victory Games Fleet series
There are five board games in the Fleet series. In order they are:
6th Fleet (1985)
2nd Fleet (1986)
7th Fleet (1987)
5th Fleet (1988)
3rd Fleet (1990)
There is a computer version of 5th Fleet (1994) that uses an updated
game system, the most important change of which is a near-total lack of
intelligence about enemy movements unless detection occurs. Furthermore,
a Computer 5th Fleet Module was published in 1995, which included 15 new
scenarios.
A couple of decent articles about the game series were published in The
General, including (I think) some new maps.
The game system developed and changed a bit over the years, growing
slightly more complex. Overall I would rate the complexity as lower than
VG's Civil War.
6th Fleet dealt with the Mediterranean, 2nd Fleet with the North
Atlantic/Norwegian Sea, 7th Fleet with the western Pacific, 5th Fleet
with the Indian Ocean. 3rd Fleet was somewhat unique in that it was
actually three separate theaters (North Pacific, Caribbean, Baltic). By
the time 3rd Fleet was published, it was growing increasingly difficult
for me to design believable scenarios. Nevertheless, the game did well.
Overall, the Fleet series was resoundingly successful in terms of sales.
For me, it sort of marked the passing of an era. When I first started
working on the series it was possible to actually make a living
designing the games and living off the royalties. By the time the last
game was published, board game sales had dropped so dramatically that it
was impossible even to contemplate the type of commitment I had made in
the past to game design. If I, in 1997, put in the kind of work on a
board game that I had put into the Fleet series in the mid-1980's, my
hourly rate of pay after royalties were added up would be much less than
minimum wage. The Fleet series combined probably sold 85,000 - 90,000
copies, not counting the computer game. Pretty good.
The graphics for the series changed a bit when VG folded in NYC and the
staff at Avalon Hill assumed all the artwork. In 3rd Fleet, the maps are
painted rather than colored with overlays. The painted maps, in my
opinion, are far superior. I think the improvements in 5th Fleet and 3rd
Fleet (many of which can simply be added to the earlier games - the CRT,
for example) make the game a lot better.
I guess we now can view the Fleet series as "historical" games rather
than games dealing with the contemporary military situation. In the
couple of years since the last board game was published, the US Navy has
changed profoundly. It would be fun to do a new, updated game. But will
anybody buy it?
Sincerely,
Joe Balkoski